Standing together for Earth Day
This Earth Day, I’m happy to invite you to support a collaborative of community organizations and environmental nonprofits that know we are stronger and more effective by working together.
For the second year, the Earth Day Collaborative is encouraging people to donate collectively to 11 organizations on April 22. Together, the Collaborative spans a wide spectrum of issues, relationships, identities, and outcomes for our planet and for our communities. Environmental Initiative is happy to be one of those organizations. I hope you will check out the website linked above, watch for our messages, and contribute how you are able.
I’ve been reflecting on the meaning and power of Earth Day here in Minnesota as its 56th anniversary approaches. In recent months, our state has captured the global imagination. What the world knows about us is that we care for each other, we show up together, and we stand up for what we believe is right. We are capable of working together in ways that defy the narratives of hopeless division and separation, and we recognize our interdependence with everyone, including our supposed adversaries, and especially with the most vulnerable among us.
Our environment has not been spared the negative impacts of this time of turmoil and unraveling, and I see this Earth Day as a moment to rally in unity for values that remain broadly held. In November 2024 — an election where many focused on division — Minnesotans came together and overwhelmingly voted to approve a constitutional amendment to rededicate state lottery funds for our Great Outdoors. The amendment won with 77.5%, the most votes in state history, securing clear majorities in every region, county, and district. This shows how much we can be in alignment when it comes to clean air, clean water, and healthy ecosystems and people. In voting yes, Minnesotans also created a new Community Grant Program to direct funding to communities of color, Tribes, and rural communities most impacted by environmental issues.
The Earth Day Collaborative is grounded in these very same Minnesotan values of partnership, care for one another, and commitment to the environment we share, especially those most vulnerable. The fundraising opportunity it represents is much needed for our organization in these unprecedently hard times for nonprofits, and even more so for the environmental justice organizations that have suffered disproportionate losses of funding. Here in our state, we have an opportunity to celebrate by defying narratives of scarcity and division, and by making a single donation that supports a rich ecosystem of organizations working for our shared values. Please join me in doing that on April 22!